


two broken teacups

by mysterytwin



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Angst, Gen, Post-Canon, Sibling Bonding, and a hint of fluff at the end, basically how to not blame yourself for causing the apocalypse, mabel finally tells dipper she started it because that was never resolved in canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-03
Updated: 2016-11-03
Packaged: 2018-08-28 20:00:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8461030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysterytwin/pseuds/mysterytwin
Summary: What’s the difference between desperation and determination?





	

Things change.

 

They’ve learned that the hard way. They’ve faced the consequences of trying to keep change still, but it doesn’t work like that. You can’t make things _not_ change because you want it to. Even if you put it in a drawer or put it in a box and throw the key in the sea, it will change. It will grow old, collect dust, melt, rust, or disappear. It _will_ change.

 

(and that kind of sucks, to be honest.)

 

All the people who said that the _truth hurts_ were right — but maybe it would’ve been easier if they mentioned that it was unchangeable, too. Even unpredictable would’ve helped their case.

 

But it’s too late for them anyway. Stories about the weirdest apocalypse in the world and old men losing their memories to get rid of a dream demon sound ridiculous, but it’s the truth. Maybe that’s why people started lying in the first place — because they couldn’t handle the truth or they couldn’t change it to fit their vision. Maybe they got so desperate to change the truth that their determination made them lose themselves in their string of lies.

 

(but really, what is the difference between determination and desperation?)

 

Dipper Pines is a boy of determination and mysteries. He is all about the paranormal and what unknown creature might lie in the forest. He is of curiosity and chance and trying to make others listen to him, just to show that he’s actually right about something.

 

Mabel Pines is a girl of determination and love. Her heart is full of both, one sometimes overcoming the other and resulting to a downfall she never expected. She is a girl with a lot of love and a lot of determination to give it to all those who need it.

 

Desperation was both their downfall.

 

The brother was so desperate to be noticed, so desperate to drown in the sea of attention and affection that his mysterious great uncle could give him that he allowed himself to swim without a life jacket. He allowed a dream demon to take control of his strings and became the puppet he never wanted to be, just to get an answer to a riddle that was never solved. He kept secrets about things he could not carry on his own two shoulders alone and was forced to climb mountains without ever falling down. He was desperate.

 

And so was his sister. She was so desperate to stay in her bubble of summer, she let thorns grow in her garden of a perfect summer to make sure no one could leave. She let the rift of worlds break in her very own fingers, and became unconscious before she could try to sew the damage back together. She was so desperate to not let things change that she herself change by accident.

 

But these two children had more heart than hurt and continued to keep going and held hands to mend the bond torn by desperation and pride. They tried to fix their summer.

 

Well, at least, what was left of it.

 

(they’re stuck in their room in the attic for now, waiting for the announcement that will tell them that their grunkle is okay again and that he remembers them. their grunkles looked adorable downstairs, watching those old home videos from their childhood, and it felt rude to disturb them. seeing that made them happy for their grunkles . . . but it showed them how much more they had to fix between themselves. their grunkles are no longer the broken teacups that need fixing — _they_ are.)

 

Mabel sits on her bed with her legs pulled to her chest and her face tucked between them. Her brother stares at the ceiling, unblinking and unspeaking.

 

Until that very moment.

 

“It's my fault,” he says suddenly, sitting up and facing her. There are dark circles around his eyes. She misses the way they were so bright and happy — she could’be sworn that they were just a second ago. At least she thinks so. She hasn’t been paying enough attention again, has she? Always thinking about herself. Stupid Mabel.

 

“No, it’s not,” she says instantly. “It’s mine.”

 

He smiles dryly, nothing like the warm ones she’s used to receiving. “You didn’t do anything to cause any of this,” he tells her. “I didn’t tell you about the rift.”

 

She can see the guilt in his eyes as he swallows. Dipper doesn’t look at her, he just fumbles with his fingers. She feels really guilty too, but she has to tell him the truth. She has to tell him what happened to the rift.

 

Mabel takes a deep breath. “Heh, at least you didn’t break it.”

 

That catches his attention, his head snapping up and his eyes landing on hers. Dipper’s mouth hangs open, and he blinks fast.

 

“What?” he chokes out, looking shocked. He’s not sure if he heard her properly — heck, he’s not sure of anything anymore. Did Mabel just say . . . she _broke_ the rift? “You did what?”

 

“I broke the rift,” she states calmly again. “Well, technically, Bill broke it, but I gave it to him. And hey, don’t look at me like that. Oh, wait, never mind, I think I’d rather have you looking at me like that than having you not talk to me at all. And before you say anything — I know, it was dumb, and I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t—”

 

“—know,” Dipper finishes for her. He almost feels like laughing. Even if Mabel did break the rift, it still ends up being his fault. “You didn’t know because I didn’t tell you.”

 

“Dipper, did you not listen to me? It’s my fault! I shouldn’t have trusted Bill-Blendin! I was being stupid!”

 

“I was being stupid, too, Mabel! I thought . . . I thought I could handle it. I should’ve told you," he says angrily. He’s not angry at Mabel — he never could be — but at himself. It’s his fault his grunkle is clueless right now.

 

“It’s not your fault, Dipper! Why can’t you just let me take the blame on this one? Why do you think you’re always at fault? You’re not! You’re not, okay? You’re the _best_ Dipper anyone could ask for! You’re better than those stars! It’s not your fault!” Mabel exclaims, tears starting to stream down her face. Why couldn’t Dipper just _understand_?

 

Her brother doesn’t say anything. He just stands up and walks over. Then he wraps his arms around her. Mabel does the same to him. They both know that a hug has been due for a long time.

 

“I think we just need to hug it out,” Dipper whispers into her ear. “Let’s just say that we both made mistakes. Both equally stupid and dumb. Okay?”

 

“Okay,” she replies. “Yeah. That sounds good.”

 

Dipper lets go of her and smiles. He holds out his fist, like old times. “Mystery Twins?”

 

Mabel grins, and hits his fist with her own. She’s missed this. She missed her brother. And he missed her, too.

 

“Mystery Twins.”

 

(it turns out: the difference between desperation and determination is the way you look at it. they’re two different roads; you just need to choose which one you’re going to take. and this time, both of the twins were determined to make up for the time they had lost.)

**Author's Note:**

> hmu at superishs.tumblr.com!!


End file.
